Evidence-Based Practice & Research Methods Flashcards

In healthcare construction, 'evidence-based design' (EBD) is best defined as:

Answer: The deliberate use of credible research to influence the design of the healthcare environment to achieve the best possible outcomes

EBD intentionally incorporates the best available research evidence to make design decisions that improve measurable patient, staff, and organizational outcomes.

Which of the following sampling methods would yield the most representative data when studying patient wayfinding challenges across multiple hospital types?

Answer: Stratified random sampling across hospital size, type, and geographic region

Stratified random sampling ensures proportional representation across key subgroups, reducing selection bias and improving generalizability.

A CHC professional reviewing a study finds a p-value of 0.03 for a design intervention's effect on HCAI rates. This means:

Answer: There is a 3% probability of observing the data (or more extreme) if the null hypothesis were true

A p-value represents the probability of obtaining the observed results by chance alone if there were truly no effect, not the probability the hypothesis is true.

When the CHC exam references 'grey literature,' this typically includes:

Answer: Reports, guidelines, and technical documents not published through commercial academic channels

Grey literature includes government reports, technical white papers, conference proceedings, and organizational guidelines that fall outside formal peer-reviewed publishing.

A healthcare construction team wants to implement a 'Plan-Do-Study-Act' (PDSA) cycle to test a new hand hygiene station placement strategy. In the 'Study' phase, the team should:

Answer: Analyze data collected during the trial to determine if the change achieved the desired result

The 'Study' phase of PDSA involves reviewing and analyzing data from the pilot to determine whether the intervention produced the intended improvement.

Which element of a research study's design most directly addresses 'internal validity'?

Answer: Controls for confounding variables through randomization or statistical adjustment

Internal validity is the degree to which a study's results accurately reflect the true effect of the intervention, primarily protected by controlling confounders.

Under the Center for Health Design's Pebble Project model, participating healthcare organizations contribute to the evidence base by:

Answer: Conducting and sharing post-occupancy research on their own facility projects to build collective industry knowledge

Pebble Project members conduct and publish their own facility research, collectively building a shared, real-world evidence base for healthcare design decisions.